It’s not hard to guess the connection – Hooked on Phonics; Hooked on Spelling. Just like its “kissing cousin,” Hooked on Spelling is fun, colorful, and easy-to-use. The general format of the program is familiar as well: Learn (a short 5-7 minute, computer-based lesson), Practice (5-7 minute segment with the engaging workbooks), and Play (another 5-7 minutes having fun with new skills). Each lesson ends with a celebration and a sticker on a progress chart. In fact, this celebration is part of the overall educational philosophy of the program which includes working side by side with your student, encouragement/praise, mastery, being patient, not overdoing it, working in a quiet place, employing real-world spelling activities, surrounding the child with words, and lastly (most importantly?) reading with the child every day.
There are two levels: Yellow – roughly corresponding to the 1st grade level of HOP Learn to Read – and Red, corresponding to HOP Learn to Read 2nd grade. Program components for each level include a CD-ROM, a worktext, a spelling study card, a progress poster and stickers.
The CD-ROM lessons (20 including reviews) each provide instruction plus interactive reinforcement. Worktexts are for practice and include exercises, reviews and family-time activities. Each word is written at least three times in this segment. The wipe-off Spelling Study Card is available for more practice and provides some guidance for effective mastery. Stickers applied to the Colorful Poster (11” x 7,” laminated) track your student’s progress. All instruction centers around the computer component and although the computer program is professional with good audio and practice, there is no way to skip forward through the lessons. If typing is a roadblock for the child, it may be frustrating.
The Yellow level (six words per lesson) covers beginning consonant and rhyming word families, ending consonant sounds, short vowels, beginning and ending blends, word families with ending blends, “ch,” “sh,” “th,” and some irregular words. The Red level (eight words per lesson) covers short vowels vs. long vowels, blends vs. non-blends, “c” sounds, “g” sounds, “y,” plurals and other endings, and some irregular words. ~ Janice
System Requirements: Windows 2000, XP or higher; Mac OS 10.1 or higher.

Item #: 025207ISBN: 9781616017828
Retail: $4.49Rainbow Price: $3.75
(description by publisher - stay tuned for our own!) Arrival at school brings many new experiences, perhaps most importantly, the experience of learning to read. The activities in this book are designed to strengthen your child's phonemic awareness and phonics skills. Children need to have a strong understanding of spoken language before they can understand written language. Phonemic awareness focuses on the sounds used to form spoken words; phonics instruction associates sounds to written symbols (i.e., the alphabet). Together, they help children develop word-recognition skills, namely the ability to "sound out" unknown words. Mastering sound-symbol relationships gives beginning readers the confi dence and ability to decode new words. To become skilled readers, children must internalize these sound-symbol relationships in order to read words without having to sound them out letter by letter or part by part.
Upon your child's completion of each activity, use the provided incentive chart and stickers to track progress and celebrate your child's success.
Whether students need extra practice with grade-level skills or a head start on next year, Stick Kids® Workbooks offer engaging activities, games, and puzzles that help make learning lots of fun. Each 56-page book features full-color activities, a list of the skills, and an explanation of why those skills are important for development. Also included are helpful tips, an answer key, a handy tracking sheet, stickers for acknowledging achievements, and appearances by the lovable Stick Kids!
These right-sized (7" x 9") skill practice workbooks are perfect for use at school, or as entertaining activities on the go. Tuck them into a backpack, purse, or travel bag. Great for school breaks, vacations, and year-long practice.
SKILLS
Individual letter sounds
Rhyming
Beginning and ending sounds
Word families
Short vowels
Spelling
Long vowels
Academic vocabulary
Blends
HOW YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT LEARNING
Read the directions with your child.
Complete activities together.
If something is too challenging, calmly put it aside and revisit it at another time.
Draw your child's attention to the sounds of his or her language with silly songs and nursery rhymes.
Read and reread stories together.
Have your child listen to and chant along with audio versions of stories.

Greek often seems more intimidating than Latin because of its unique alphabet. Most of us only come across those funny little symbols in higher-level math and science! This ingenious book, however, equates learning the Greek alphabet to learning a top-secret code needed to solve a robbery case. A priceless ancient Greek urn has been stolen, and it's up to the reader to learn the Greek alphabet to decode clues from the eyewitnesses. There are eight units in the book, which are estimated to take eight weeks to complete if you study Greek 3-4 times per week. Of course, you could complete the book in less time or spend more time on it, depending on the ages and abilities of the students participating. Unit 1 introduces the Greek alphabet and a pronunciation guide. Units 2-5 each introduce six new letters in the Greek alphabet while reviewing previously learned ones. Units 6 and 7 cover consonant blends, vowels and diphthongs and Unit 8 is comprehensive review. The Greek letters are reinforced through a variety of exercises, including matching, solving simple "cyphers" that equate to English words, handwriting practice with the Greek letters, writing Greek words and saying them aloud, and word puzzles. The author also recommends beginning each session by singing the Greek Alphabet Song together, which can be downloaded from the publisher's website. Although the pages seem to be intended as consumables, they are glossy, full-color and not reproducible. Because of this, you will either need a book for each student, or have them write on a separate sheet of paper. Reference charts, extra writing practice sheets, code-making worksheets and a Greek Alphabet Code Cracker Cypher Wheel to assemble are found at the back of the book, with answers to all activities. Additional goodies designed to accompany the book are provided at www.classicalacademicpress.com/greekcode along with the alphabet song mentioned above. Whether you are looking to begin Greek for Children, or are just "testing the waters" to see if you are interested, you can't beat this introduction for the excitement of catching the thieves! 96 pgs, pb. - Jess

There is more to this program than what might initially meet the eye. Seemingly only a series of six smallish workbooks, these provide the structure for a one-on-one tutoring relationship that will give an older student the tools he/she needs to become a successful reader. Organized by phonics but aiming for mastery, not only of phonics-based words but also of sight words, the six books each have five lessons. At a mastery rate (achievable with consistent work) of one lesson per week, the series can be completed in about 8 months and will take the student from a just beginning reading level to a fifth level.

Lessons follow a pattern. Phonics Word Reading provides lists of words – organized by phonics sound – for the student to read and master. Interestingly, although the lessons start with short vowel sounds – they also cover additional sounds. For instance, the short a lesson also includes r-controlled a and all/aw words. This part of the lesson also includes a list of “Challenge Words” – compound words related to the lesson sound. The Spelling portion of the lesson includes a word list for the student to read and learn to spell followed by activities (i.e., fill in the blanks, write words from list under pictures). Sight Words are covered by flashcard lists (can be reproduced and cut apart) and more fill-in-the-blank exercises. Reading practice takes the form of Bible Stories (one per lesson) taken from the Old Testament and in chronological order through the workbooks. The student first listens to the story, finds/marks sight words, completes review and comprehension exercises, reads the story and then retells it in his own words.

Checklists abound in these books – an overall list in the back of the book and within each lesson – while the inside front cover is a Progress Chart. This is where the one-on-one tutoring design of the series becomes apparent. A Tutor Guide is included with each set of workbooks providing helpful information for the tutor as well as the expectations for the tutoring relationship. As a mastery program, flexibility, consistency, and positive reactions to student efforts are essentials for success. Before starting, students need to have a basic knowledge of the alphabet: recognize letters, say letter names, write the letters, and know the usual sounds of consonants. Additional tutor training videos are available as free downloads on the publisher’s website. Each book is 40 pgs, pb. ~ Janice

Item #: 025206ISBN: 9781616017996
Retail: $4.49Rainbow Price: $3.75
(description by publisher - stay tuned for our own!) Learning to read is a fun and exciting time in a child's life, and being able to decode words is an important skill that gives young readers the confidence and the ability to read new and unfamiliar words. Phonics is a method of teaching beginning readers to decode by learning the spoken sounds associated with written letters and letter pairs. To become skilled readers, children must internalize these associations in order to read words without having to sound them out letter by letter or part by part. In addition, phonics instruction gives new readers the tools necessary for making the important connection between sounds and their spellings. Becoming fluent or automatic with these skills helps develop reading fluency and builds a strong foundation in reading comprehension, an important skill for academic success.
Upon your child's completion of each activity, use the provided incentive chart and stickers to track progress and celebrate your child's success.
Whether students need extra practice with grade-level skills or a head start on next year, Stick Kids® Workbooks offer engaging activities, games, and puzzles that help make learning lots of fun. Each 56-page book features full-color activities, a list of the skills, and an explanation of why those skills are important for development. Also included are helpful tips, an answer key, a handy tracking sheet, stickers for acknowledging achievements, and appearances by the lovable Stick Kids!
These right-sized (7" x 9") skill practice workbooks are perfect for use at school, or as entertaining activities on the go. Tuck them into a backpack, purse, or travel bag. Great for school breaks, vacations, and year-long practice.
SKILLS
Consonant sounds
Letter pair digraphs (ch, sh, th)
Short vowel sounds
Vowel pair diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy)
Long vowel sounds
Sounds of oo (as in moon and book)
Y as a vowel
R-controlled vowels
Letter pair blends with l, r, s
HOW YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT LEARNING
Work with your child in a calm, quiet setting.
Read with or to your child every day.
Point to a word in your child's story book and ask him or her to tell you the sounds of the word's letters. Then blend the individual sounds into the complete word.
Go on a "letter-sound hunt" when running errands. Point out words on advertisements and buildings and have your child tell you the sounds of each letter in the words.

From one homeschool mom to another. Everything in this program is designed to communicate "I'm a homeschool mom that taught my kids to read. It's easy. It's fun! You can do it, too. Have a great time." And I'm sure if you follow Diane Hopkins' step by step approach wrapped with loving teacher-student interaction, that's exactly the result you'll get. After going through the just-the-right-size (25 pages) Teacher's Guidebook and looking through the brightly colored cardstock that makes up the program, I'm happy with the appearance of the product and really, really impressed with the content.

Starting at the very beginning, Mrs. Hopkins has boiled the entire process down into eight steps. And even if step seven (teach phonics units containing two or more letters) has seventeen parts, she's still managed to make a homeschool mom's most fearful task into something that seems remarkably ordinary and doable.

The package contains the Happy Phonics Guidebook, "My Big Book" (an almost-to-the-end-of-the-program-reader) and lots of printed, brightly colored paper and cardstock – flashcards, game components, first little readers and spelling lists. The Guidebook contains the Eight Steps along with specific how-to instructions for each step. The essence of the program is to introduce the phonics concepts a few at a time and then play games for retention. The author suggests that lesson time be about 10 minutes a day, but you may want to factor in more time to play the games over and over just because the student wants to.

The Guidebook is extremely user-friendly and written in first-person, mom-to-mom form. The step-by-step instructions are straight-forward and easy to follow. All references to the games and other supplementary material are coded with little symbols found on the colored sheets. Practically foolproof! But just to be sure, there's a chart that lists which games/components are used with each teaching step. There's also a chart clearly laying out those seventeen phonics units that make up step seven. And, of course, the teaching aids are clearly marked for each unit.

The teaching progression is common sense. Alphabet song; capital letters match lowercase letters; the main sound for each letter; blend letter sounds to form a word; teach common non-phonetic (sight) words; teach vowels that can make a second sound; teach through the phonic units; READ. Although she doesn't consider them absolutely necessary, the author does mention supplementary material that she likes and that her children have enjoyed – Lauri perception puzzles, Leap Frog Phonics Library, and the Explode the Code books. In fact, she changed her original letter presentation order (used with her older children) to conform to the Explode the Code books for her younger children and in this program. She also suggests various supplementary readers.

The games and other reinforcement activities are obviously a central component of this program. Some preparation is involved, usually just cutting cards apart. I would be inclined to laminate (or cover with clear contact paper) some of the frequently-used cards and game layouts if I thought it likely I'd be using the program with a number of children. The games include some adapted favorites like Phonics Bingo and a number of creative originals like the Y Not? Game. The line art of the game components is not high tech graphics but still communicates the concept and looks inviting. Components of the games are color coded, with the little symbols marked on each game piece, so that you can easily unscramble things if they don't always get put away neatly.

This program fits into the "complete program" category of phonics instruction, as it includes systematic phonics, reinforcement, and reading practice. The program gets your student reading on his own in an enjoyable way. Please note that it does not cover advanced syllabication, prefixes, and suffixes that tend to be found in second/third grade levels of some phonics programs. But it is an enjoyable program that will build the confidence of a newbie and provide ease of instruction for busy homeschooling mothers. All for a very reasonable price! - Janice

Item #: 000335ISBN: 9781929683093
Retail: $98.00Rainbow Price: $73.95
"It's just common sense!" Actually, it's the Blue Book Common Sense Reading Program and yes, everything about this program is common sense. A very complete program organized around quality children's literature (like all LLATL programs) and covering phonics, reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, handwriting, and higher-order reasoning. Phonics instruction is systematic, introducing a few sounds at a time and providing opportunities to read a "real" (small story book) book which uses those sounds. The literature component - carefully selected children's favorites - reminds students that the reason for all the hard work in phonics is the joy of reading wonderful books. And woven through both of these elements is comprehensive instruction in all aspects of language arts. Relying heavily on Ruth Beechick's principles for teaching reading (including her letter dice activities), the program includes a wide variety of activities appealing to all learning styles. The teacher's manual is a homeschooler's dream with all the work having been done for you, taking you step-by-step through the 36-week program. New skills are listed for each lesson with a materials list included at the beginning. Almost no teacher preparation is needed - you teach as you read. All answers are provided within the lesson. Higher-order thinking activities are italicized. Examples and diagrams are user-friendly including the easy-to-follow references to the Student Activity Book. Each of the four parts (readiness, short vowels, consonant blends and short vowels, and long vowels) concludes with an evaluation for determining your child's readiness for the next level. The Student Activity Book contains the materials (except for household and school supplies) needed for cut and paste, word wheels, flip books, picture sequencing, story-telling puppets, PLUS handwriting pages that teach all upper and lower case letters, numbers, and punctuation. The comfortable, natural handwriting method that isn't exactly traditional, modern, or italic was developed by the authors. This handwriting instruction is coordinated with the phonics and includes pages for children to carefully complete and display or give as gifts.

The Student Activity Book is consumable, even having an easy-release binding that allows for clean page removal. Even the back cover is put to good use providing the miniature book covers to be added to the personal reading chart that marks the child's progress. 28 separate readers cover short vowels, blends (bridge readers), and long vowels. They are small-sized for little hands and include black-and-white illustrations. Stories are engaging which is a good thing since a week's worth of learning activities are built around them. The student uses puppets to retell the stories, completes sequencing activities with a series of reader-related events, and answers comprehension questions. One interesting aspect of the teacher-student interaction concerning these readers is that the week's lesson starts off with the teacher reading the small book to the child. After several lessons thoroughly covering the new phonics steps and practice reading parts of the story, the student concludes the week with the successful reading of the small book. This is an effective variation of the typical approach because the goal of reading the book is always before the student. The materials packet is a useful collection of color-coded letter and word cards to use for learning and review along with cards used for reinforcement games and, of course, the letter dice (to be assembled from cardstock patterns). While this part of the program is not exactly consumable - you could use the various components again - the components do get a workout. If you are expecting to use the program with another child, you'll want to save these items and covering them with clear contact paper to preserve them would also be a good idea. The program includes the Teacher's Manual, the Student Activity Book, the 28 Readers, and the Materials Packet.

We sell additional Student Activity Books, Reader Sets, and Material Packets so you can use the program with a second student. Well-known children's literature (Read-Aloud Library) is suggested each week, so at the same time your child is learning phonics, he is also learning other important reading skills such as literal recall, comprehension, predicting outcome, and drawing conclusions. These books are an integral part of the program and the Student Activity Book relies on them. Although usually available at the local library, for your convenience we also sell them. They are listed in order of use. Although this program focuses on first grade skills, it would be possible to use this program with a "ready" kindergartner. It would also work well with a slightly older child who is still a just-getting-started reader. ~ Janice